


you feel like home

by 3amscribbles



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: M/M, post-christmas episode of 2016, robert has a family-feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-09-16 01:09:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9267062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3amscribbles/pseuds/3amscribbles
Summary: “It’s family, isn’t it? I’ve never had that before. Not like this.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my tumblr on the 25th of December with a summary of: "700 words of ROBERT HAS A FAMILY(!!!) post-christmas episode nonsense."

Vic’s voice is clear. Joyful. Entirely hers, with just a hint of exhaustion drawing out her vowels as she speaks in melodies of her evening, of Adam, of presents and a happiness that is so apparent that it never really needed to be addressed. Robert listens to it all, though, through a phone that’s still cold against his ear from the chilly walk back home to the pub.

There’s melting snow in his hair; alcohol in his system and a warmth in his veins that feels just the way Vic’s voice sounds. He bunches his cheek up against the screen with a smile he won’t be admitting to her, thinking of her and Adam together with Diane – of how grateful he is of her place with them, of the home she’s settled into in their presences.

He gets himself a glass of water while she speaks, drinks some of it while he glares at the sweater he discarded over the back of a chair as soon as they got inside, and contemplates all the pieces in the dim lighting of the kitchen.

Matching sweaters, unfamiliar traditions, new people, warmth. Himself, in the middle of it all, with Aaron as the only familiar anchor, and yet he can’t remember a Christmas that’s felt more like home before. Can’t remember feeling more at ease during the holidays than he has tonight, watching the madness unfold in bouts of genuine care and harmless mockery across littered surfaces while his own presence has passed by unquestioned – unarguably an extension of his fiancé, now. The two of them and Liv making their own branch on the family tree.

“But anyway,” Vic’s saying, pitching the tone of her voice as she’s changing the subject. “How was your night?”

Robert hums – the sum of realizations falling out in surprised noises over his bottom lip.

It makes Vic sigh. She’s probably rolling her eyes, too. “Was it really that bad? Did Cain kick off with you or something?”

“No, it’s not –“ Robert starts. And then he pauses. Breathes in and furrows his brow, reeling a little from the impact of every new piece falling into place in his mind and heart.

 _Warmth, happiness, traditions_.

He looks at the sweater again, at the dots of melted snowflakes that the threads are refusing to soak up. Thinks of Chas, who’s nothing like Lawrence; of Liv, who’s worth fifty of Lachlan even when she’s stealing booze from the pub and making a mess of things; of Aaron, who’s the centre of the family, the home he never had before, the one who gave him a place to belong just the way he is.

“Rob…?”

He swallows before he picks back up with a breath of; “It’s family, isn’t it? I’ve never had that before. Not like this.”

Vic hums, soft and high-pitched. Proud from several houses away, though her response fades out in a whirr of want and heartbeat at the arrival of secure hands on his hips; proprietary fingers pressed through fabrics and against flesh to turn him around in their grip and make him forget about everything else.

Aaron’s eyes are reflecting the few streaks of light in the room, adding to the mischievous streak within him that shines bright with the idea he’s acting on. The fingers move from Robert’s hips, tying Robert’s tongue by simply wandering to the centre of his torso where shirt buttons are easily seduced by nimble movements. 

He has no idea what he says, but a moment later he’s discarding his phone on the table – leaving sweater and device to watch him fall into place in Aaron’s presence. A final piece in this puzzle made out of warmth, happiness, traditions and the two of them, with branches so beautifully spread that he’ll spend decades admiring the structure of them.

“Family, huh?” Aaron asks. His tone is as teasing as his eyes – all of him so handsome that Robert’s lungs hurt. There’s _too much to breathe in_ , and too little of himself to appreciate it all, but he’ll try. Will encompass it all if it keeps Aaron this way, so relaxed, so at home in their home. Their family.

He shivers under Aaron’s touches – the gentle figures brushed onto his revealed skin. Thinks his heart is trembling too, so full of realizations and love. Mouths the word _family_ against Aaron’s smile and kisses it until it fades into noises as soft as the lighting in the room.


End file.
